Abstract Universal quantities near the phase transition of O(N) symmetric vector models, can be determined, in the framework of the (f2 )2 field theory, and the corresponding renormalization group (RG), in the form of perturbative series. The O(N) symmetric field theories describe, in particular for N = 0, the universal properties of the statistics of long polymers, for N = 1, the liquid–vapour transition, for N = 2, superfluid helium transition, and so on. Universal quantities have been calculated within two different schemes, the Wilson-Fisher ϵ = 4 − d expansion, and perturbative expansion at fixed dimensions 2 and 3 (as suggested by Parisi). In both cases, the series are divergent, and the expansion parameters are not small. In fixed dimensions smaller than 4, the series are proven to be Borel summable. For the ϵ expansion, there are reasons that the property is equally true, but a proof is lacking. With this assumption, in both cases, although the series are divergent, they define unique functions. Since the expansion parameters are not small, summation methods are then required to determine these functions. A specific summation method, based on a parametric Borel transformation and mapping, in which the knowledge of the large order behaviour has been incorporated, has been successfully applied to the series, and has led to a precise evaluation of critical exponents and other universal quantities.
Abstract Universal quantities near the phase transition of O(N) symmetric vector models, can be determined, in the framework of the (f2 )2 field theory, and the corresponding renormalization group (RG), in the form of perturbative series. The O(N) symmetric field theories describe, in particular for N = 0, the universal properties of the statistics of long polymers, for N = 1, the liquid–vapour transition, for N = 2, superfluid helium transition, and so on. Universal quantities have been calculated within two different schemes, the Wilson-Fisher ϵ = 4 − d expansion, and perturbative expansion at fixed dimensions 2 and 3 (as suggested by Parisi). In both cases, the series are divergent, and the expansion parameters are not small. In fixed dimensions smaller than 4, the series are proven to be Borel summable. For the ϵ expansion, there are reasons that the property is equally true, but a proof is lacking. With this assumption, in both cases, although the series are divergent, they define unique functions. Since the expansion parameters are not small, summation methods are then required to determine these functions. A specific summation method, based on a parametric Borel transformation and mapping, in which the knowledge of the large order behaviour has been incorporated, has been successfully applied to the series, and has led to a precise evaluation of critical exponents and other universal quantities.
Abstract Chapter 6 describes how the perturbative renormalization group (RG) of quantum field theory has made it possible to derive universal properties of continuous macroscopic phase transitions. The RG initially emerged as a consequence of the necessity to cancel infinities that appear in the perturbative expansion (the renormalization procedure) and the possibility of defining the parameters of the renormalized theory at different momentum scales. Although the field theory RG is now understood to be an asymptotic form, it has made it possible to confirm the Wilson–Fisher fixed point and led to an understanding of universality for a large class of critical phenomena. In the framework of dimensional continuation, zeros of RG beta functions, which correspond to Wilson–Fisher’s fixed points, have made it possible to recover Wilson–Fisher’s epsilon expansion, proving scaling relations and calculating critical exponents. Series summation methods have then been used to generate precise values of exponents.
Abstract In Chapter 14, the singular behavior of ferromagnetic systems with O(N) symmetry and short-range interactions, near a second order phase transition has been determined in the mean-field approximation, which is also a quasi-Gaussian approximation. The mean-field approximation predicts a set of universal properties, properties independent of the detailed structure of the microscopic Hamiltonian, the dimension of space, and, to a large extent, of the symmetry of systems. However, the leading corrections to the mean-field approximation, in dimensions smaller than or equal to four, diverge at the critical temperature, and the universal predictions of the mean-field approximation cannot be correct. Such a problem originates from the non-decoupling of scales and leads to the question of possible universality. In Chapter 9, the question has been answered in four dimensions using renormalization theory, and related renormalization group (RG) equations. Moreover, below four dimensions, in an expansion around the mean-field, the most singular terms near criticality can be also formally recovered from a continuum, low-mass φ4 field theory. More generally, following Wilson, to understand universality beyond the mean-field approximation, it is necessary to build a general renormalization group in the form of flow equations for effective Hamiltonians and to find fixed points of the flow equations. Near four dimensions, the flow equations can be approximated by the renormalization group of quantum field theory (QFT), and the fixed points and critical behaviours derived within the framework of the Wilson-Fisher ϵ expansion.
Abstract Chapter 5 first recalls the importance of the concept of scale decoupling in physics. It then emphasizes that quantum field theory and the theory of critical phenomena have provided two examples where this concepts fails. To deal with such a situation, a new tool has been invented: the renormalization group. In the framework of effective quantum field theory, a perturbative renormalization group has been formulated. Its implementation has led to the discovery of fixed points as zeros of beta functions, and calculations of critical exponents of a class of macroscopic phase transitions in the form of Wilson–Fisher epsilon or fixed dimension expansions. These expansions being divergent, they could summed by methods based on the Borel transformation and the determination of the large order behaviour of perturbation theory.
The functional renormalization group (FRG) is a powerful tool that has facilitated the investigation of various strongly interacting theories, encompassing systems characterized by both bosonic and fermionic variables. Specifically, this project focuses on the analysis of theories with O(N) symmetry with bosonic scalar fields. These theories are of particular interest due to their broad applicability in real physical systems. For example, Z2 symmetry (the O(1) model) describes the well-known Ising universality class, which in turn models the liquid-gas transition. On the other hand, the O(2) model belongs to the universality class of the XY model, used to describe the transition from fluid to superfluid in 4 He, while the O(3) model, known as the Heisenberg model, describes the ferromagnetic transition in isotropic materials. Finally the O(0) model is related to the self-avoiding walk (SAW). To characterize these theories, various methods have been implemented within the framework of the renormalization group. Perturbation theory has been applied since the early days of the subject, specifically in the form of the ε-expansion, which has reached high loop order in recent years. Alternatively, a non-perturbative approach can be chosen, which is known as the non-perturbative renormalization group (NPRG). Within the NPRG, there are several approximation schemes, with the derivative expansion being particularly noteworthy. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to calculate the critical exponents, which define the given universality class. The standard non-perturbative method involves solving an equation that depends on a regulator or cut-off, which represents one of the main challenges of this approach. Although the regulators are designed so that the theory does not depend on them at the scales of interest, the results for the critical exponents can vary depending on the regulator used once approximations are made. In this project, we propose an approach that eliminates the need for an explicit mass cut-off significantly simplifying the calculation of critical exponents while mitigating the regulator dependence of the results. In particular, we show that it is possible to use dimensional regularization (DR) beyond the ε-expansion in the context of RG calculations of critical properties. Based on this we propose a new functional RG scheme called Functional Dimensional Regularization (FDR) and apply it to the O(N) model in three dimension, finding excellent agreement with state-of-the-art computations
Abstract In Chapter 15, the scaling behaviour of correlation functions at criticality, T = Tc, has been derived. This chapter is devoted to the critical domain, where the correlation length is large with respect to the microscopic scale, but finite. In dimensions d < 4, above Tc, the property of strong scaling is derived: in the critical domain above Tc, all correlation functions, after rescaling, can be expressed in terms of universal correlation functions, in which the scale of distance is provided by the correlation length. However, because the correlation length is singular at Tc, in this formalism, the critical temperature cannot be crossed. Alternatively, one can expand correlation functions in formal power series of the deviation (T −Tc) from the critical temperature, in presence of a magnetic field. The sum of the expansion satisfies renormalization group (RG) equations also valid for T < Tc and in a magnetic field, from which follow scaling properties in the whole critical domain. The universal two-point function can be expanded when T approaches Tc, using the short-distance expansion (SDE). A few terms of the ϵ expansion (ϵ is the deviation from dimension 4) of a few universal quantities are reported. Calculations at fixed dimension and summation of perturbative expansions are described. The conformal bootstrap based on the SDE and conformal invariance at the infrared (IR) fixed point provides an alternative method to determine critical exponents.
Continuous phase transitions provide a natural setting for understanding universality. Near criticality, the correlation length diverges, microscopic details become increasingly irrelevant, and physical observables obey scaling laws characterized by universal critical exponents. Within the Functional Renormalization Group (FRG), this scale dependence is described through the Effective Average Action, which progressively incorporates fluctuations as the momentum scale is lowered. A first part of this thesis is developed within the Local Potential Approximation (LPA), where we study multicritical fixed points of scalar field theories. Their universal properties are compared with results obtained at higher orders in the derivative expansion. Particular attention is devoted to the relation between global fixed-point potentials and their local representations through finite polynomial truncations. We show that the convergence of such expansions is constrained by the analytic structure of the global solution, and that expanding around a suitable nonzero stationary point significantly improves the reconstruction of multicritical branches. Beyond the structure of individual fixed points, a central part of this thesis concerns RG irreversibility. In two dimensions, Zamolodchikov’s c-theorem describes the flow from the ultraviolet to the infrared through a monotonically decreasing c-function. Within the FRG framework, we develop a variational procedure to reconstruct RG trajectories between fixed points and integrate the corresponding c-function along them. The resulting quantity displays monotonic behaviour and becomes increasingly stable as the truncation order is raised, providing a manifestation of RG irreversibility within the approximation considered. Finally, close to the upper critical dimensions, the linearized FRG flow around the Gaussian fixed point is naturally organized in terms of Hermite polynomials. Using the epsilon-expansion, we derive a curvature-based candidate c-function and obtain an analytic explanation for the alternating curvature of successive multicritical fixed points and for their progressive accumulation around the Gaussian fixed point.